The proposed taxation of sugar sweetened beverages, recently announced by the National Treasury and widely reported in the press, forms part of the national strategy for the prevention and control of obesity by the Department of Health. This is an effort to reduce obesity in the general population by 10% by 2020, mainly by reducing the intake of sugar.
From a health perspective, what is the effect of sugar on our bodies?
Daily Nutrition (publishing scientifically based nutritional articles) lists a number of reasons why sugar is bad for you:
- Sugar contains a lot of calories, with no essential nutrients. Too much sugar in the diet (10 -20% of calories as sugar) contributes to nutrient deficiencies.
- Sugar causes tooth decay by feeding harmful bacteria.
- Sugar is broken down in the gut into glucose and fructose. Glucose is useful, but our bodies do not really need fructose. Large amounts of fructose from added sugars for instance gets turned into fat in the liver, which can lead to all sorts of serious problems, such as high cholesterol and even fatty liver disease.
- Eating a lot of sugar can cause resistance to the hormone insulin, which can contribute to many diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.
- People who eat a lot of sugar may be at a much higher risk of getting cancer. Insulin is one of the hormones that regulates the uncontrolled growth and multiplication of cells in the body.
- Fructose does not cause satiety in the brain or lower the hunger hormone ghrelin as much as glucose.
- Sugar causes a release of dopamine (the feel good hormone) in the brain and can cause addiction, similar to the effect of alcohol and/or drugs.
- As a result of the effect of sugar on hormones and the brain, sugar increases the risk of becoming overweight or obese.
- It is not really saturated fat, as is commonly believed, but sugar that may be one of the leading drivers of heart disease through the harmful effects of fructose on metabolism.
Source: www.authoritynutrition.com. Article published 13 September 2013: “10 disturbing reasons why sugar is bad for you”, written by Kris Gunnars, BSc, CEO and Founder of Authority Nutrition.
Is honey, a natural product, healthier than refined white sugar?
White sugar is produced by refining sugar beets and sugar cane. Sugar is made up of the disaccharide, sucrose, which is 50% fructose and 50% glucose, upon digestion.
Honey is sweeter than white sugar and is made up of a mixture of carbohydrates and other compounds. Honey consists mainly of fructose (40%) and glucose (30%) with a little maltose, sucrose and other complex carbohydrates making up the carbohydrate balance. Although honey is mostly sugars, there are trace amounts of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants. The water content of honey is 17% and honey is 36% denser than water.
Natural does not mean healthy!
Your body does not care whether you ingested honey or white sugar once the glucose and fructose enters your bloodstream. Sugar is sugar and both glucose and fructose are metabolized differently. All types of sugars should be consumed sparingly, even if it is so called “healthy” honey. The trace amounts of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants in honey might help alleviate common health ailments like a sore throat or chronic sinus infections.
The antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of honey give it a thumbs up over white sugar; however, it would be wise to not consume too much of this natural product, rich in sugars.
So, what is the solution?
Take sugar in moderation and be conscious of the sugar content, not only of beverages, but in all packaged food. Reading the labels would expose high sugar content and it is recommended that one’s intake should not exceed 6 teaspoons of added sugar in total per day. (1 teaspoon = 4g of sugar).
HEALTH INSIGHT
MARCH 2017
